A 9-year-old girl was shot and killed in Anaheim Wednesday night as she was playing on a sidewalk in front of her home, police said.
The shooting took place about 7:15 p.m. in the 2300 block of Greenacre Avenue (map), the Anaheim Police Department said.
Lt. Bob Dunn said the girl died after she was taken to UC Irvine Medical Center. The victim was identified Thursday morning as 9-year-old Ximena Meza, according to the coroner's office.
She would have turned 10 next month.
The girl was playing on the sidewalk when she was cut down by gunfire in front of the apartments next to Brookhurst Park, police said.
"There was no calls before that in this particular area that we’re aware of, of people congregating or any types of fights or disturbances. The initial calls we got is that they heard gunfire and then we responded and found the victim," Dunn said.
A 12-year-old boy was one of the first to discover his injured playmate.
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"Her eyes were just like all rolled back. She wasn't bleeding at all," Hector Jiminez said.
Police were searching for the shooter, described only as a male.
"We have very limited information on any type of suspects. All we know is that there were some males involved. Whether that's more than one or six or more, we don't know," Dunn said.
It is unclear whether this was a drive-by shooting, if someone walked up and shot the girl, or if the girl was hit by a stray bullet meant for somene else.
Anaheim Police believe potential witnesses at the park and apartment buildings nearby may provide them with additional information. As of Wednesday night, police had few leads.
Samia Khan and Ryan Boregard contributed to this report.
